The /newstuff Chronicles #96

Because we're all missing newstuff, I've decided to have a go at creating an unofficial newstuff thread, similar to what Nightmare did a while ago. I'm even presenting it ahead of schedule! (well, it's close to midnight over here in the UK, but it's still Saturday night in the US). I've done my best to round up all the unreviewed wads from the past 2 or 3 weeks as well as the wads from this week, and I am presenting them all here, albeit without screenshots.

If you have any good or bad comments about my reviews, feel free to post them, as I'm in unknown territory here and I'm not sure what sort of reaction the reviews will get. But, I have made an effort with these, and I hope they're ok. (and I hope that I've not violated any forum rules by doing this)

So, without further ado, let's jump into the 7 wads and 14 maps:

Capslocked by Epyo - Released during a newstuff absence, this is a ZDoom mini-episode replacing maps 01-06 of DooM 2. Capslocked contains a host of quirky ZDoom tricks, including "gun turrets", "merry-go-rounds" and "floating platforms". The gameplay is actually quite challenging, with good ammo/health placement along with some big monsters, although the detail could have been improved. If you like ZDoom features and challenges, one of which is pretty special (ie. map 05), then this wad is worth playing. The best of Epyo's wads so far, requires ZDoom.
Mossvale Dungeons by Alex Parsons - Another wad that seemed to miss the newstuff chronicles, this wad is set in an underground complex consisting mostly of green stone, with one sp_rock cave area. The detail is good, and the gameplay is of the usual challenging standard, with quite a few traps in close-quarters and some tricky battles with basic weapons. If you like Alex's wads, then this one won't disappoint. Source port recommended.
The Catacombs by Alex Parsons - This wad starts out similar to the previous one, but soon turns into a DooM 2 map 22-inspired level, with good detail and very finely balanced health and ammo, with some tricky battles in the centre of the map. The final section is a familiar sp_rock outdoor area infested with imps, shotgunners and chaingunners. It's up to the usual AP standard, and worth playing. Source port recommended.
Alien 3 by Ismaele - After two wads that were slated, Ismaele definitely comes up with the goods this time. 4 maps, (replacing 14-15, 31-32), a Beretta pistol, a cool flamethrower, a tougher SS soldier, a much deadlier imp, new graphics, sprites and Boom features, including fake underwater sections! 3 of the maps are Outpost of Hell-style tech maps and one is a brown cave. The detail is good throughout, and the gameplay is fairly challenging, but can be quite linear, as a lot of the time the rooms are similar-looking and flat. Also, the Icon of Sin area is a little suspect. But this wad is well worth playing, especially if you like tech maps. Requires ZDoom.

Die1 by Cadman - This wad comprises mostly of DooM 1 graphics and creatures, but with a few DooM 2 creatures to keep things lively. Replacing map 04, this level has a Deimos feel to it, mainly due to the fact that it contains modern, industrial and gothic styles with a DooM 1 orientation. Ammo and health is balanced quite well, and the gameplay is fairly challenging, as you'll get caught out by shotgunners quite a bit. The detail isn't as intricate as today's wads, but that's because this wad is doom2.exe compatibl

Sentinel by Sphagne - A small-ish deathmatch map set on an island at night. The night sky greatly enhances the atmosphere, and you could easily get mistaken by thinking it's a single player map, as there's lots of monsters and even an exit! There are a number of small buildings, each with a different style, weapons are aplenty, and it's not meant to be played with jumping. Overall, a nice wad, even on single player!

Lock and Load v3.0 by pilottobombadier - A weapons-only mod that gives out 15 weapons, see text for details. Only works with Edge 1.24, so unfortunately I wasn't able to run it, as the only version I can find is 1.27 (and it crashes with that). So I'll have to let you give your own opinions on it. I know graphics-only wads are generally not dealt with here, but I thought I'd give it a mention, as it's a big project.

Ah, /newstuff chronicles. Life is good.

mmm... newstuff

i wonder who the next /newstuff guy will be...

You mean they don't have a /newstuff guy anymore? Hey, I can give it a go if Ling allows me to. Just tell me what I have to do, etc. if you think I'm worthy, Ling.

I wonder why Alex Parsons packages his WADs in multiple dirs. Heh, it's like opening some kind of delicate present that has arrived through the mail stored in an assortment of wrappings and boxes. Not that his WADs aren't worth digging for, but it's odd nonetheless.

Ahh, so it's got its own news article now. If you want to read the other comments, the original thread can be found here:

http://www.doomworld.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10151

I'm interested in giving it a go, that's one of the reasons why I did the unofficial thread. If it's up to standard, let me know.

SCREENSHOTS!?!?!?

I'm up for reviewing a level or 3 a week, why don't a few of us work on it together? It'd make it a lot easier to manage....

i would do it, but uhh... timezone problems... i would have to submit them a day early, or they'd be a day late.

horray for GMT+10.

What a relief! Talk about a negative influence. It had turned into one of those crazed talk shows where most everyone says outlandished things to try and start fights and stir everything up. Cheap theatrics meant to stir controversity and draw attention.

Insults = anger = responses = more insults = more responses = very popular newstuff. Problem is everyone is pissed off and there is no incentive to create wads. Good riddens to bad rubbish!

I heard about this wonderful change and decided to come back to Doomworld.


Rich Sham

I liked Liams reviews, atleast he pointed out the crap.

There wasn't any crap this time, but if there was, I would have pointed them out. (in any case I pointed out the major flaws in this week's wads)

Ebola: I don't have access to space on the DW server to put screenshots on like AndrewB/Liam did. I didn't have much time on the day either, as it was late Saturday when I decided to do the reviews. If I do any more unofficial newstuffs, I'll put the images up on my site without those little icons. (and of course, if I get chosen then I'll be able to do it properly....)

Rich said:

Insults = anger = responses = more insults = more responses = very popular newstuff.

"Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering." :-)

Yeah, nice matter-of-fact reviews giving a reasonable idea of what the wads were about.

"Just the facts ma'am."

It was nice of you to pick up /newstuff Ling, but i miss Liam. I go cry now

Use3D said:

It was nice of you to pick up /newstuff Ling, but i miss Liam. I go cry now

Actually, it was me that posted the reviews, in an unofficial newstuff thread,
and Ling decided to make it into an official news article.

(Still, credit to Ling for doing so, it's certainly made it more noticeable)

That's a great idea! We could have it so that there'd be several of us and then we'd just type up text files, send 'em to Ling, who'd combine all our text reviews and paste them onto doomworld. Better yet, one of us can gather and combine all the text files and send the final product to Ling, so all he has to do is copy and paste.

Forgot to add that I was referring to Rellik's idea.

deathwarrior said:

i wonder who the next /newstuff guy will be...

There seems to be a few people who are vaguely interested in reviewing levels. The main problem is that it sucks up a huge ammount of time EVERY WEEK and this is probably why there are no takers for the post. Maybe Ling could make a list of people who are willing to do reviews and then draw up some kind of rota so that those people only have to do it once every few weeks. It's just a suggestion, but maybe this way there's a better chance of the feature being permenent and regular.

Hell, any /newstuff is better than no /newstuff at all!

Well, I guess the general opinion so far seems that there ought to be several /newstuff people.

Nice one U.D., Topper.:)

Well hows about we meet in a chat on thursday / friday and divide up the work. We'll whip up reviews / pics, then send it to one person who'll slap it together and upload it.

How's that sound for a plan?

Ultimate DooMer said:

Actually, it was me that posted the reviews, in an unofficial newstuff thread,
and Ling decided to make it into an official news article.

(Still, credit to Ling for doing so, it's certainly made it more noticeable)

No no, I saw your newstuff thread first and the reviews are really good! I just wanted to let Ling know (which he does already) that many of us really like /newstuff and would hate to see it die. I used to visit the site just to see the new levels...now i'm addicted to the forums not unlike crack.

Rellik: Ok, my AIM screenname is "Virgil3232", e-mail is "Virgil_32@hotmail.com". If noone else volunteers, I can be the guy that slaps it all together and emails Ling with it.

Great reviews ling!, i dont miss liam and his condeming of wads that dont reach some kind of far out standard that he may have invented, probrably of another modern game. At least ling doesnt adopt liams bitter frustrated attitude about the wads, and doesnt act lame about every part of it, and blatently rip it apart. In the end, ling gave only the necersary-no-bullshit-info, that casual doom players need, just to enjoy a wad - it wont hurt to try them (even the ones that liam alledged 'sucks' :P)
Anyway, there was no obscure comments in brackets about everysingle thing consisting of mismatched objects doing stuff to you; which kind of turned liam on. IHGOT. Ling review=nice . addition: i love newstuff
this is just long overdue piss. IMO farewell AH

The Heretic said:

Great reviews ling!

ling didn't do them.

Linguica - truncated and condensed into Ling. Is he just the poster? My bad. My extremity. <this statement was removed>

No, Linguica didn't do the reviews, they were done by Ultimate Doomer. Lings the guy who runs the site. :-)

My AIM name is Rellikjmd, I'll see if yer on right now Virgil. So what's the preffered screenshot size? 640x480?

Where are the screenshots at? I usually download a map based on the preview shots.

rtz said:

Where are the screenshots at? I usually download a map based on the preview shots.

I don't have access to the DW server to put them up, and putting them on my site doesn't work either, 'cos you can't link to them from the outside. (damn geocities)